Funerals often stimulate reflection. Travelling home from Cornish independent Councillor Pam Lyne’s memorial service on 13th July, I was thinking about one of the many causes to which she selflessly dedicated so much energy.

The Treasury has finally settled on its definition of a green tax and it is a narrow one. Why? – because the Coalition agreement included a commitment to double the proportion of total taxes represented by green taxes. The smaller the amount of tax take that is included within the definition, the less the Government will need to do in order to meet its commitment.

A few weeks ago I went to a great little event hosted by LG Legal at their HQ next to Boris’s City Hall that brought together leading players in the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) industry. I started writing about it in an initial fit of inspiration on the last train back to Bristol, while the debate (chaired by BBC Science Correspondent David Shukman), the good dinner, and several glasses of wine were still in my system. Unfortunately after about a page of ranting I had typed myself to sleep, and only in the last couple of days has my screed come to light. Amazingly, I think I hit on a point that remains worth making – one which, if the leading players took it on board, would transform the economics of AD.

For all its many environmental benefits, the growth in recycling poses a problem: space. At its peak, landfilling required 500 major burial pits, occupying around 8,000 hectares. If we landfilled no waste at all, it is estimated that up to 3,000 waste facilities of 5-10 hectares would be required, occupying around 25,000 hectares – three times the area. The twin challenges of navigating the planning system and attracting investment make developing this infrastructure one of the waste sector’s biggest problems. Although approaching 50 food waste anaerobic digestion and 200 materials recovery plants are already in place, more are needed.

I can’t be the only one to notice that suddenly everyone is talking about “disruptive innovation” – change that shifts us from linear, incremental developments and into an entirely new way of looking at the world.

June may not have blazed in many respects, but for Isonomia it was just fine, with another new author contributing to the site and each of our new articles being well thumbed. Blog-wise, we’re set fair for July – and if the rain does keep lashing down, at least this helps to keep our authors indoors writing good material.